Following a tough 2024 season that fell short of the once lofty preseason expectations, Arizona football is hoping to flush the past and head into its second season as part of the competitive Big 12 better than it started.
Head coach Brent Brennan returns after taking over for former Wildcats head coach Jedd Fisch, who departed for Washington just a year ago, but Brennan definitely had his work cut out for him in the offseason to earn back the trust of fans after a disappointing 4-8 season and going 2-7 in conference play.
It’s all about the response after a nearly unwatchable product was given out last year and there’s reason for optimism in Tucson as the Wildcats have a completely revamped coaching staff surrounding Brennan along with the additions of exciting players through high school recruiting and the transfer portal. Oh yeah, and star quarterback Noah Fifita decided to run it back again to try and finish what he started when he chose Arizona.
How is Arizona prepared for life without Tetairoa McMillan?
There is one major caveat in that attempt to get better as a football team though when you lose the best wide receiver in program history in Tetairoa McMillan. When sitting through Arizona’s lackluster offensive performances in 2024, it was apparent that McMillan just couldn’t get the ball enough because when he did, some generational production came with it. T-Mac completely dominated the target share hauling in 84 catches along with 1,319 yards and eight touchdowns, so dominant that the next receiver in line had 49 catches and 1,000 yards less than him.
So how exactly is Arizona supposed to get better after losing its All-Time receiving yards leader? It’s not so much as finding a player to replace him, but improving the room as a whole.
The wide receiver room was an area Brennan and company dove hard into recruiting wise, and there are a plethora of new weapons at the disposal of Fifita to choose from when he drops back. The additions were really headlined by Washington State transfer Kris Hutson who was a four-star prospect formerly with Oregon before setting career highs for himself catching 54 passes for 683 yards with the Cougars in 2024.
The other notable receiver should be very familiar to Wildcats fans as New Mexico transfer Luke Wysong made a name for himself gashing UA for eight receptions with 129 yards and a touchdown when the Lobos came to town for the 2024 opener. Wysong remained productive in what was really a breakout year for him catching 69 passes for 840 yards and a touchdown.
Some other pieces were added through the portal such as Chattanooga speedster Javin “Nunu” Whatley and Kansas State’s 6-foot-4 Tre Spivey, but one of the more intriguing names that can get lost in all of these additions is Chris Hunter. The redshirt junior really came on strong down the course of 2024’s season notably in the UCF game where he had his first 100-yard performance and the TCU game where caught two acrobatic touchdowns that each rode the edges of the endzone.
Wide receivers coach Bobby Wade clarified that it’s “impossible to fill those shoes” that McMillan left behind, but knows that Arizona has filled the room with more talent and speed than it had a year ago while letting the players compete for targets.
Brennan’s back, but puts a New Band together
It was like taking candy from a baby after Arizona State walked in and out of Arizona Stadium with the Territorial Cup in hand while pummeling the Cats 49-7 in the process. Bitterness, anger, and hopelessness clouded Tucson after that finale that seemed a little reminiscent of the 70-7 massacre from the Kevin Sumlin era and blame quickly rested on the shoulders of the head coach.
Coach Brennan was brought in as Arizona’s new head football coach during an oddly timed moment in the modern college football calendar. The coaching change allowed players to enter the transfer portal when the regular window had already ended, so UA was in a position that it could lose great players while the talent pool in the portal waiting for Brennan had dried up. Coupled with many assistant coaches around the nation having already decided where they’d be for the following season, there weren’t many to choose from either.
With that being said, it’s difficult to excuse an eight-loss season when the program had been preparing the makings of a bright and successful future that bred NFL players, made bowl games, and even competed potentially for conference championships. After a dreadful year like the one Arizona had, it would’ve been safe to assume the team was closer to a full on rebuild rather than one that had its head screwed on right.
When news broke that Brennan would return for a second season after much speculation that a first-year divorce might’ve been in play, he made three tough decisions within his program. The head coach overhauled the offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators and decided to start from scratch bringing in replacements that’ve seen immense success in their respective careers.
Out the door went former OC Dino Babers, and in came exciting Marshall OC Seth Doege. Doege, former Texas Tech quarterback and Mike Leach protege, helped Marshall to a Cinderella 10-3 season thanks in part to his balanced and efficient offensive attack. The Thundering Herd had a top-37 scoring offense while earning the 18th best rushing offense in college football all while playing in the Sun Belt. Doege brings a young and intelligent offensive mind that is so highly coveted in today’s football world that’ll be crucial in returning Fifita back to his Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year form that led the Wildcats to the Alamo Bowl.
Defensively, Brennan made the choice to shuffle around the chips that were already in his possession by moving former ST coordinator Danny Gonzales over to the newly vacant DC spot that was left by Duane Akina. Although the special teams unit was shaky under Gonzales, he shouldn’t have been anywhere near that unit when his expertise is on the defensive side of the ball, and boy can he coach a good defense. Gonzales coached two top-35 defenses in his time with New Mexico and Arizona State which was a stark contrast from Arizona’s recent 105th total defense and 108th scoring defense.
One of the more underrated hires though has to be the return of former Arizona defensive linemen Joe Salave’a to coach the defensive line as he’s arguably one of the better D-line coaches in the country. Salave’a has coached seven NFL defensive linemen and five total All-America selections including Freshman All-Americans. He’s teaching the current Wildcats how to use their hands more effectively in attempting their pass rush and his presence in the recruiting scene is already active as Arizona has multiple highly-touted commits for 2026.
Mistakes were made in the roster construction of the coaching staff during Brennan’s first go around, but it’s safe to say that with a fully realized offseason now under his belt, it looks like he’s assembled the staff he really wanted when he first got hired.
Both trenches have been overhauled
An underlying issue on Arizona’s 2024 team that kept it out of games before even taking the field was the poor play received from the offensive and defensive lines. Fifita got thrown around in the backfield on too many occasions or opposing mobile quarterbacks and running backs just had their way running through and around the defensive front.
Brennan outlined at National Signing Day that the trenches were a big area of need as, “It just felt like we weren’t quite as big” when referring to the rest of the league. To only add onto that, Arizona saw trench stalwarts Jonah Savaiinaea (NFL draft), Josh Baker (senior), and Wendell Moe (transfer portal) all exit and that left the Wildcats no other option than to hit the recruiting trail. Per Justin Spears, the Wildcats added around 6,800 pounds of sheer and utter mass along both lines and that is surely one way to beef your way up to the competition.
Incoming Texas Tech transfer Ty Buchanan, 6-foot-8 Michigan transfer Tristan Bounds, and Hawaii transfer Ka’ena Decambra all figure to slot into three of the starting offensive line spots with Alexander Doost and Rhino Tapa’atoutai, barring his injury recovery, fill out the other two positions. It’s hard to diagnose how well a generally new group of offensive linemen will pair together but they all surely fit the size profile and have the experience at good programs to boot.
The defensive line saw some newcomers as well in the form of UT Martin transfer Deshawn McKnight, Alcorn State transfer Malachi Bailey, and Texas transfer Tiaoalii Savea. Savea was a Wildcat during the Fisch era and has had a relatively quiet four-year career from a statistical perspective, but he was most productive on the ‘23 team when he recorded 1.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss. His presence as a 300-pound nose tackle was sorely needed back and back he indeed is.
McKnight and Bailey are the intriguing names as each come from FCS schools but produced well at them. McKnight had his most productive season a year ago notching four sacks with eight tackles for loss and a forced fumble from that interior spot and fills a position of need for UA. Bailey on the other hand, has enjoyed an incredibly productive three-year career at Alcorn State recording 22 sacks, a whopping 54 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. The two FCS products have looked disruptive in training camp and are sure to make an impact or at least add quality depth to a room Arizona desperately needed a year ago.
What should Wildcats fans expect from the 2025 team?
Depth issues, injuries, and coaching malpractice basically defined Arizona’s disastrous ‘24 season and there’s no way to say it’ll be better especially after losing four NFL players until the Wildcats hit the turf and show what they’re made of under this new-look ‘25 team. Until then let’s look at the facts and the observations I’ve seen through Spring and Fall camp.
The players ultimately look more bought into the culture Brennan and company are selling them as the entire operation in practice and transition looks more organized and much quicker. Speaking of organized, that’s exactly what Doege’s offensive scheme looks like. His philosophy of putting players in the best position to succeed is what it should’ve looked like last year when you’re given an all-world receiver and an All-Conference talent at quarterback that’ve been playing together for over a decade.
Throw in the fact that Doege is a quarterback at heart, it sounds like a match made in heaven pairing him with Fifita and building a scheme around him that’ll allow him to do what he does best.
Once again, Arizona returns a talented group of players in the secondary led by none other than the safety tandem of Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith who have been uber productive and leaders of the defense in their own right. Coach Gonzales is riding the hype train on Smith as well saying that if he reaches his upside, “he’ll have a chance to win Big 12 Player of the Year, First Team All-Big 12, and he probably won’t be here next year.” If Smith has a year good enough to enter the NFL draft confidently after his junior season, that probably means good things for Arizona’s season.
The key to success this year will be owning the home turf as Arizona plays five of its first six games at home. On the docket to start the year is Mountain West program Hawai’i whom UA currently sits as a 17.5 point favorite according to bet365. Should the Cats take care of business at home, they’ll play a tune up against FCS school Weber State before taking on the first real challenge of the season in No. 17 Kansas State.
The Wildcats of Manhattan lost 24-21 in their week 0 matchup against No. 22 Iowa State in Dublin but remain a very talented Big 12 squad and were responsible for Arizona’s first loss of the season in 2024. The aforementioned Cyclones stay home in Ames for a matchup against UA, and those first two games against ranked conference opponents should tell fans everything they should expect for the course of the year.
Can Arizona beat these ranked opponents on the schedule including No. 11 Arizona State? Probably not and it would be a shocking upset, but can Arizona be competitive in those games is another question. If there’s a more competitive product from Coach Brennan’s Cats, then he might be able to stream that momentum into another season in Tucson and provide fans some hope for the return of that ever so distant, but brighter future.
